The Life Sciences Core Education is a collaborative effort among faculty, staff, and students from all life science departments, designed to offer a unified and integrated course sequence for undergraduates in their first years. The Core includes four key courses in the life sciences (Life Sciences 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7L), alongside chemistry, mathematics, and physics courses. Together, these courses make up most of the first two years for life science majors, providing a comprehensive introduction to essential, cutting-edge concepts across various life science fields. This curriculum lays a strong foundation for any of the life science majors.

In addition to these required courses for life science students, we offer a general education course (Life Sciences 15) for students outside the life sciences. This course introduces broader audiences to the latest ideas and issues in the life sciences.

One unique aspect of Core Education is that courses are taught by faculty and teaching assistants from diverse life science departments. This approach allows you to explore different life science disciplines while studying an interconnected set of biological principles. All students in life science majors follow the same Core courses, ensuring that by the end, you’re prepared to pursue any life science major.

Although you don’t need a declared major while you are completing the Core courses, identifying an area of interest and selecting a preliminary major early on will enable you to receive focused, personalized guidance as you shape your academic journey.

For more information regarding Majors in the Life Science Division, please see https://lifesciences.ucla.edu/undergraduates/majors-minors/. To receive academic advising for a specific major, please contact the department directly. 

For Pre-Health Resources, such as Course Planning and Career Information, please see the Pre-Health at UCLA website at https://prehealth.ucla.edu/.